The present invention relates generally to implements used for rice farming. More particularly, the present invention relates to apparatus for properly cutting and forming levee gates for flood control.
As will be appreciated by those skilled in the rice farming art, approximately six months after harvest of the previous years crop, the rice field is first prepared with a disk or harrow. In Arkansas farms, initial field preparation usually occurs in April of the year. After the fields are first prepared in this manner, the next step may be to plant the rice crop with, for example, a conventional drill. Afterwards, the land is surveyed to set up approximately three inch differentials between alternate holding ponds. The contours are established with a heavy plow or other equipment which establishes levees between adjacent flood ponds. Some farmers prefer to survey and furrow the ground prior to planting.
Usually the levees are started at the highest altitude in the field, and different flood ponds are established sequentially at lower elevations. Different flood ponds communicate with each other through a plurality of flood gates which have hitherto been cut with cumbersome mechanical contrivances, or, as is more often the case, the gates may be cut by hand. Thus when the highest altitude flood ponds are flooded and filled, water will drain through their communicating gates into the next lower flood plane until all of the successive ponds are properly flooded to provide a desirable growing environment for the rice crop.
In the prior art a variety of broadly relevant art is known. Soil may be leveled and treated by the apparatus of Pat. Nos. 3,266,181 and 2,964,864. Flow channels or gates may be established mechanically with the apparatus of U.S. Pat. No. 3,834,466. Levees may be initially established with the machines of U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,073,245; 2,644,252 and 2,311,337. U.S. Pat. No. 1,184,329 discloses a now obsolete irrigating furrow forming machine which, through the process described therein is capable of forming irrigation channels in existing levees. Less relevant art is seen in Pat. No. 3,199,608.
The relatively high volume flow of water through levee cross channels in the flooding process often destroys the channel or gate through the process of erosion. This can result in unwanted widening of the channel, and uncontrolled flooding rates resulting from channel deformation. Accordingly, it is usually the practice to line irrigation gates with a form of plastic sheet, to form a non-eroding bottom in the channel. In most farm operations of which I am aware, the cross channels or levee gates must be cut by hand using conventional implements such as a shovel. This is necessary because some form of "anchor" must be made to weight the plastic in place so it will not be moved out of the cross channel in response to rushing water. I have proposed a unique mechanical system for automatically cutting the necessary cross channels or gates, to facilitate rapid permanent installation of the plastic liner which is required for reliable levee flooding control.